Black History Month Tribute, Part 1: Negro Leagues Baseball, A to Z
Negro Leagues Baseball, A to Z
— Guest Submission by Philip A. Ross
A is for Andrew, Rube Foster’s first name.
He started the league that organized the first black game.
B is for Cool Papa Bell, the speedster of which you’ve heard.
Even on an intentional walk he could wind up on third.
C is for Oscar Charleston, he played centerfield then first base.
Wherever he played, he was always an ace.
D is for Leon Day, whose strong right arm could fire the ball.
His outstanding career got him elected to the Hall.
E is for Luke Easter, as a hitter he was elite.
He would hit blasts out of the park and onto the street.
F is for Willie Foster, whose left arm threw smoke.
It would have been easier for the batter to use a fork to drink Coke.
G is for Josh Gibson, he hit home runs prodigious.
When he got up to bat, the pitchers got religious.
H is for the Homestead Grays, a Pittsburgh team under Cumberland Posey.
Gus Greenlee’s Crawfords were their cross-town rivals. Relations weren’t always rosy.
I is for Monte Irvin, with the Newark Eagles he got his start playing ball.
He went to the “show” now he’s in the Hall.
J is for J.L. Wilkinson of the Monarchs, he was the president.
Kansas City was his home. There he was a resident.
K is for Henry Kimbro, a five tool player by trade.
On the field he made his mark in each game that he played.
L is for Buck Leonard, his first name was Walter.
This power hitting first baseman rarely did falter.
M is for Lefty Mathis, he had a pick off move that couldn’t be beat.
If you got to first, glue the base to your feet.
N is for all of the Negro Leagues, their seasons weren’t very long.
But they kept the fires burning ’til Jackie came along.
O is for Buck O’Neil, he played the game with grace and style.
In his heart and on his face, he always wore a smile.
P is for Spot Poles, in the outfield many he did rob.
A great all around player he was called the “black Ty Cobb.”
Q is for Quincy Trouppe, who was finely tuned on all gears.
He just felt he was born too soon, by twenty years.
R is for Double Day Radcliffe, pitcher and catcher supreme.
The only player anywhere to play both positions on all star teams.
S is for Satchel, Leroy Paige never got older.
Remember his words, “Don’t look over your shoulder.”
T is for the Taylor brothers: Ben, Candy Jim, Steel Arm Johnny and CI.
Their legacy and standard is still riding high.
U is for the Brooklyn Uniques, a foundation team from yesteryear.
We stand on their shoulders so let’s give them a cheer.
V is for Armando Vasquez, the outfielder who hit with power.
He could get up and slug the ball, any day, any hour.
W is for Smokey Joe Williams, a giant of a man on the mound.
When opponents saw him warm up, they wanted to turn around.
X marks the spot of the Negro League Museum in KC at 18th and Vine.
On your trip to see the Royals stop in you’ll have a great time.
Y is for Bill Yancey, he played second, third and shortstop.
He could pivot and throw and catch the short hop.
Z is for Jim Zapp, after the Navy he joined the Elite Giants of Baltimore.
This big hit slugger was hard to ignore.
So there’s the poem that scratches the surface.
I gave it some thought and a great deal of purpose.
With thanks to the players who played through the strife,
You made baseball better and enriched my life.
— Philip A. Ross is a negro leagues baseball historian and speaker. He is a retired New York City public school teacher.
Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #29 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The Honorable Tom McMillen Visits League of Fans’ Sports Forum – McMillen is a former All-American basketball player, Olympian, Rhodes Scholar and U.S. Congressman, and has a long involvement with the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sport (now called the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition). We discuss the state of college athletics today, given the pressures of NIL, the transfer portal, sports gambling and huge media contracts. McMillen then provides great perspective on the poor state of physical fitness our young people are experiencing today.
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Episode #28 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: A Chat With Mano Watsa, a Leading Basketball and Life Educator – Watsa is President of PGC Basketball, the largest education basketball camp in the world. We discuss problems in youth sports today.
Episode #27 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Kids’ Sports: How We Can Take Back the Game and Restore Quality Family Time In the Process – Linda Flanagan is author of “Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids’ Sports and Why It Matters.” We discuss how commercialized and professionalized youth sports are hurting kids and their families.
Episode #26 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: How Can We Fix Youth Sports? – John O’Sullivan is Founder and CEO of Changing the Game Project and author of “Changing the Game: The Parents Guide to Raising Happy, High Performing Athletes and Giving Youth Sports Back to Our Kids.”
Episode #25 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Physical Education Should Be a Critical Component of K-12 School Design – Michael Horn is co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation.
Episode #24 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Mental Health and Athletes: Ending the Stigma – Nathan Braaten and Taylor Ricci are the founders of Dam Worth It, a non-profit created to end the stigma around mental health at colleges and universities through sport, storytelling, and community creation.
Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- Reed Appears on Ralph Nader Radio Hour League of Fans’ sports policy director, Ken Reed, Ralph Nader and the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner discussed a variety of sports issues on Nader’s radio show as well as Reed’s updated book, How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan. Reed's book was released in paperback in February, and has a new introduction and several updated sections.
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Vanderbilt Sport & Society - On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss with guest Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director for League of Fans and author of How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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